


One Seat Open

by quarterleigh



Series: Tell Me [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 03:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15258432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quarterleigh/pseuds/quarterleigh
Summary: Dan goes to family day and meets his little brother's camp counselor, Phil.





	One Seat Open

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel that is somehow longer than the work it is prequel-ing. I've been wanting to get back into writing, and so I started with a little drabble for a flash fest called 'Tell Me' and the response was so kind and lovely. I truly wasn't expecting much of a response at all, so to have people say such nice things about something so small means everything. I wanted to write a thank you for the people who commented, liked, reblogged, etc. So this is what happened during that family day I alluded to in Tell Me. Since it's a prequel, you don't need to have read that at all (but it is under 700 words, so might as well?).

 There were only three days left of Dan’s summer holiday, and he was spending one of them sitting in an auditorium, watching children he didn’t know talk about how much fun they had at camp. It was Family Day; the last day of his little brother’s sleepaway camp, and the day that the people who run the camp apparently try to convince parents that it wasn’t a total waste of their money and that they should absolutely sign their children up for next summer. Each cabin had come up with some sort of presentation to show the families. The morning had so far featured several badly-written and badly-acted skits, a ten-minute ‘press conference’ wherein one cabin fielded questions from the largely apathetic crowd about their experience at camp, and two sing-alongs. _Two fucking sing-alongs_. Dan, feeling as if he was going to expire from boredom, was contemplating how difficult it would be to slip out the back door unnoticed (he was sat on the end of the row, surely he could make it out with minimal disruption) when a group of boys that included his brother were led out onstage by two tall men in plaid.

 “Hi everyone, my name is PJ, that’s Phil, and this is cabin fifteen!” There was a smattering of applause as the boys on stage began to chant ‘Fif-teen! Fif-teen!’ while pumping their fists in the air. Dan’s palm met his face in second-hand embarrassment. “We’ve sure had a lot of fun this summer, haven’t we?” The boys all cheered. “But before we all go, we wanted to share a bit of that fun with you.”

 “That’s right,” The other man, presumably Phil, stepped forward. “We’ve all worked really hard and put together a little video that we think encapsulates our journey as a cabin. We hope you like it.” Dan grimaced. _Their journey as a cabin? It’s fucking summer camp_. This was going to be rough.

 The lights went down and a screen slowly began to descend from the ceiling at the back of the stage. The video opened on a shot of a wooden cabin with the number fifteen painted on the door. The sun was rising in the background and birds were singing. It was a simple image, but it evoked a visceral feeling in Dan. He could almost feel the dew on the grass between his toes, and the early morning breeze on his neck. Suddenly, there was an explosion of noise as the door slammed open and all twelve boys and the two counselors tumbled outside, laughing and yelling. A loud rock song kicked in, and clips of the boys doing different activities began to play in time with the beat. Dan saw his brother go swimming and hiking and horseback riding. He watched the boys have a food fight in slow motion, their faces lit up with glee, and he laughed when in the next clip they were grumpily cleaning the canteen. When the video faded out, he found himself clapping with genuine enthusiasm for the first time all day. Phil and PJ returned to the front of the stage, grinning. “Thank you guys so much. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know these kids over the summer and we hope to see everyone back next year,” PJ said. “Now, if I’m not mistaken, I believe it’s time for lunch, so if everyone could make their way next door to the canteen, Louise will help you find your name tags- Louise, please wave so they can see- and your name tag will tell you your table number. Alright, let’s eat!”

 It was twenty minutes before Dan made his way into the canteen. He had made some excuses to his parents about needing the loo and just sat in a toilet stall checking his phone while the crowd of mums and dads rushed to hug their children. When he finally picked up his food and found his table, there was only one seat open, and it wasn’t next to his brother or his mum or his dad. It was next to Phil, the counselor. And Phil the Counselor, well. He was quite different up close than he was from across an auditorium. Phil the Counselor was hot. Dan schooled his face into something resembling confidence and sat. Phil looked over in surprise. “Oh, hi! I wasn’t expecting anyone else.”

 “Yeah, I had to answer some texts. I’m Dan, that’s my brother,” he said, gesturing to the boy sitting several seats down, trying not to let his voice waver under the gaze of Phil’s blue eyes.

 “You’re Dan! He talks about you all the time, you’re like his hero.”

 “What? No way, we barely speak.”

 “Maybe you should,” Phil said, “He really looks up to you.” A warmth spread in Dan’s chest. He loved his little brother, sure, but they were too far apart in age to be close. He felt bowled over at the idea that he would talk about Dan to his friends, or his camp counselors. He looked back over to where his family was sitting, his dad ruffling his brother’s hair as his mum beamed at the two of them.

 “You know, I saw him smile more in that five minute video you guys made than I think I’ve seen him smile in months,” Dan said. Phil went slightly pink at the mention of the video.

 “Oh, good. That’s good. Glad you liked it. Or, I mean, not that you liked the video, but I’m glad you got to see him having fun.”

 Dan felt an inexplicable fondness for Phil. This beautiful man who he didn’t know but was kind to his brother and spoke like his mouth couldn’t keep up with his brain. “I did like the video. A lot, actually, it was like a proper music video. It was gorgeous.” Phil’s smile grew wider.

 “Thanks, I’m studying film editing at university, so that actually means a lot.”

 “Shut up, that’s so cool! What do you want to do when you graduate?” Phil told him about his dreams of working on online video or maybe being some sort of presenter or maybe a weatherman, and Dan told Phil about his plans to study law after his gap year and his doubts and his fears for the future. They spent the rest of the hour wrapped in conversation, the world getting smaller around them, until it was only them and no one else. Neither of them noticed when parents started herding their children into cars until one of Phil’s campers leapt in between them to give Phil a hug.

 “Bye Phil! I’ll miss you!” Dan laughed at the look of shock of Phil’s face as the child buried himself into Phil’s chest.

 “I’ll miss you too, Carl. I’ll see you next summer, right?”

 “Right!”

 Dan watched on as suddenly Phil was inundated with children wanting to say their own goodbyes. “Daniel, let’s go,” his father tapped him on the shoulder.

 “Okay, I just want to say goodbye to-”

 “Now. Your mum and brother are already in the car.”

 “Okay, okay. Fine.” Dan tried to catch Phil’s eye but he was outnumbered by children and parents demanding his attention. That was that, then. He met the only person he’s ever connected with so quickly and they’re pulled apart by an impatient father.

 He wanted to sit and brood on the drive home, he really did. But then his little brother smiled and started telling him about all the fun things he did with his new friends Andrew and Louis, and his counselors PJ and Phil. Dan’s heart was too warm to brood. “You really had a good time, didn’t you?” He asked.

 “Yes. You should come next summer! You’ll have so much fun.”

 “Dan’s a little old to be a camper, sweetie,” Their mum laughed from the front seat.

 “Duh! I meant as a counselor. He could be a counselor like PJ and Phil!” He could be a counselor. _Huh. He could be a counselor_.

**Author's Note:**

> talk to me on tumblr @ floralleigh


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